Enrique Gonzalez Zanetich, partner at Siemens Energy Ventures, is one of our top 50 Emerging Leaders in corporate venturing for 2026.
Enrique Gonzalez Zanetich leads the venture building operations at Siemens Energy Ventures, helping the German technology company create startups, as well as investing in external ones.
Gonzalez Zanetich, an engineer by training, was instrumental in creating the venture building team after Siemens Energy was split off from Siemens in 2020. The formation of the new energy-focused company provided a blank canvas, and Gonzalez Zanetich felt it would be valuable for the business to have a space to experiment and innovate in ways that traditional corporate structures might not permit.
“Having partnerships and creating independent companies is a very valid vehicle to diversify, to test, to play with partners,” he says. It allows a big corporation to be part of emerging business areas that it might still be unsure about.
Siemens Energy’s team of four work closely with the company’s corporate investment team, led by Kendra Rauchenberger.
“When I am starting to build a company, I know what the investors require, so I am already creating it with that in mind. And when I am investing, I know what the company has created, the journey it has had”
“All the companies that we end up creating and spinning off form part of our capital portfolio and we work very closely together with a capital team in making these connections,” says Gonzalez Zanetich.
He says that this dual lens – working as both a builder and capital allocator – gives him an edge: “I see the two sides. When I am starting to build a company, I know what the investors require, so I am already creating it with that in mind. And when I am investing, I know what the company has created, the journey it has had. I have a feeling for the company like a founder would,” says Gonzalez Zanetich.
So far, the venture architect team has spun out three ventures, including Factor2 Energy, a climate-tech company developing a CO2-based geothermal power system. Factor2 went on to raise a $9.1m seed round in September 2025, backed by several external VC funds, as well as Siemens Energy Ventures. A further three ventures are being incubated.
The Emerging Leaders are mid-career corporate venture professionals who are making an outstanding contribution to their teams and the industry.
See the full list of Emerging Leaders here.
